We'll Build Our House
by keiichisei
Summary: AU Heero is a young engineer looking for someone to settle down with. Oneshot, hints of 1x2.


Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Mercedes, University of Chicago, or MIT.

Warning: Only the tiniest hints of 1x2, not the most exciting romance story.

We'll Build Our House

"I'm going to be late," Relena shouted. "You always ruin everything!"

"Don't be mad, Relena. I'm sorry, Relena."

The door slammed and I was left alone in the front room. I turned into the kitchen and threw a towel on the spilled coffee on the floor. Looking at my watch, I quickly grabbed my suit coat and shut the door behind me, saying goodbye to Sparky who was under the kitchen table chewing up a pair of my socks.

Work was a little busy; the fall deadline for the next year's model is coming up. I've been designing combustion engines for Mercedes since I moved to Manhattan four years ago. The work is a little stressful but nonetheless enjoyable, a lot more than I had expected to be offered as a mechanical engineer coming out of the University of Chicago at the ripe age of twenty. It was also nice having a nice boss and no real contact with anyone during the day, except for Zechs, a friend in the advertising department, or Duo Maxwell occasionally stopping by to show me how the hydraulics for our new engine is coming along.

I thought about the fight with Relena this morning, and when I called her office during my lunch break no one answered. For quite some time I had begun to think that things would never get better or be as good as they used to be. I don't know exactly what turned the tide or when it happened. It would be better if we both went our separate ways, but I can't bring myself to give up on another girl and start all over again.

I finished out the workday with no real trouble and had a few quiet minutes to myself on the drive home. I would be able to continue to put up with Relena's tantrums if I just knew that somehow it would work out in the future. I'm twenty-four years old and am ready to settle down and start a family, and all I wish I could do is just find the right girl. I wish life was that simple.

The next day I was in my cubicle re-bandaging the coffee burn on my arm from Relena's fit that morning when I heard the soft tapping that meant the hydraulics report was coming. I turned in my chair to meet Duo holding the newest model of his hydraulics system and a drawing of how it joins with my combustion chamber. One time, I had gone to his desk with the latest update and saw designs for solar, hydrogen, and completely water-powered engines. "I like being nice to the environment." was the excuse he gave me, which made me a little ashamed that my concern had always been for a stronger and faster car. I told him he should take my job and have the entire engine. "I don't like fire" was his reply.

Duo handed me the drawing and written report. As I looked it over I could feel his eyes covering the not-yet-fully-bandaged burn on my arm.

"Do you need some cream for that?" he asked.

"No it's nothing".

"You should be like me, burns don't hurt at all!" He laughed and clicked his fingers at me. I smiled.

Duo had been an intern in my dad's department at Massachusetts Gas and Electric in Boston. He was in the explosion that killed my father. Although having lost his legs, his right arm, and a good portion of his memory, he went on to finish at MIT a year early and started working at Mercedes when he was twenty-one. I had been there two years when he arrived, then in a wheelchair. Since then he's built his own prosthetic limbs and sold the designs to a company. During the first week he was here I took him out to lunch and found that he had actually known my father and had coffee with him the morning before he died. We haven't talked about the tragedy since then, but it's helped both of us to know that someone else is going through the same pain.

"These are looking good; I'll have to adjust the receptors on the right side but that shouldn't be much trouble. Can you bring me the real deal on Friday and we can see how it works?"

"Sure." He took the report and I turned around to finish wrapping my arm, listening to the soft tapping fading away.

With the cold winter winds came the lingering thought that I am growing older and am still alone. I called my mother in January on my dad's birthday to make sure she was alright. We had grown a lot closer since she was widowed two years ago.

"How's Relena?" she asked.

"She's alright, busy at the firm as usual."

"So have you decided when you're going to pop the question?"

"No, not yet. Some time soon though," I said.

"You know, Heero, I still think that your expectations are going to turn on you. I didn't marry your father until I knew that there was no one else out there that would make me happy and that I had seen enough of the world for one lifetime. You are still so young, you've got ten years to be a free man before you should settle down!"

"I know you feel that way, Mom, but I don't want to see any more of the world. I would rather settle down and start a life that I can be sure of and have a family that I can care for."

"Well, if your mind is made up, Relena sure is a fine girl. I know she'll make you happy."

I hesitated, lifting my left hand to feel my cheek that still stung from Relena. "…. Yeah, she's a fine girl. I've got to go mom. Goodnight. I love you."

"Hey Heero, have you heard?" Zechs, my friend from the advertising department, came over to my cubicle and sat on my desk, wrinkling the drawings I had been working on for the new engine. "There's a new advertising chick coming over form the Denver office. Word is she's hotter than fire!"

"Don't make passes on her the first day, Zechs. Some girls will file lawsuits, you know." I said.

"Man, you and 'the Relly-belly' really need to call it quits. She's draining your life source!" Zechs tried to look concerned.

"Her name is Relena, and she's not a jelly bean," I grumbled.

He punched me in the shoulder and scooted off my desk, knocking the rest of the papers off.

"I'll send the new girl over sometime today, spice things up a little." He winked at me as he walked off, leaving me feeling tired and even emptier.

That night I proposed to Relena. I ordered in and set up a candlelight dinner in the apartment, ready for when she came home from work. The dinner was a pleasant surprise and everything was going fine until I got out of my chair and stooped to one knee. Although the answer wasn't no, just asking for more time, I took the look of sheer horror on her face as the true answer.

The weeks that followed were dark and dreary, with Valentine's Day looming near and Relena still avoiding answering my question. Noin, the new girl, was stopping by my desk more and more frequently, and I was starting to muster up the nerve to try something new.

"Hey Noin, are you doing anything tonight?"

"It depends. Did you have anything in mind?"

"I don't know, um, I thought we might go out and get dinner or drinks or something after work. That is, if you want to."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Heero, I've already got something tonight. I'll bring you some coffee tomorrow morning. See you."

As Noin walked out to the elevators, Zechs came in with an excited look.

"Hey, how's it going with Noin?"

"She's not interested in me. Is she already seeing somebody?"

"Are you kidding? She's seeing everybody! Peter's going out with her tonight; he's going to try to make the moves on her. I'll let you know how it goes."

"That's ok, I don't want to know." I said as he walked away.

I stayed late that night, not wanting to leave the safety of the office for another awkward evening with Relena. On the drive home last night, my car finally broke down and left me stranded four miles from my house. Walking in the rain wouldn't have been bad, had it not been so cold. I needed to get a new car anyway, and money wasn't a problem, but showing up on our doorstep frozen with pneumonia would probably be an issue for Relena.

When I reached our apartment, something felt strange. I entered the apartment, all the lights were off and Relena's furniture had been removed from the front room. I flipped on the kitchen light and saw the note lying on the counter.

Living without Relena and her fits wasn't so bad, but living alone with only Sparky to talk to was horrible. I bought a new car and got promoted at work. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and I made her move into my apartment so I could keep a closer watch on her. Now Sparky had someone to play with during the day. I had come to accept being a bachelor. However, when I saw the picture Zechs showed me of his and Noin's new son, I knew there would always be something missing in my life.

One night I was up watching the news when the telephone unexpectedly rang. I looked up at the clock. It was 10 P.M. Mother and Sparky had already gone to bed. It must be some teenager prank calling just to terrorize.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Yuy? It's Duo Maxwell. Did I interrupt dinner?"

"Hey Duo! I haven't spoken to you since my promotion! You're not interrupting anything. How have you been?"

"Just fine, I finally finished the six cylinder hydraulics system for the new model! May I bring it over and show it to you?"

Duo drove over and we sat and went through the new model in my front living room. I was perplexed at his being so eager to come over and started wondering if he had ulterior motives behind all of this.

Finally, I took the liberty and looked at his left hand. Sure enough, there was a ring. My heart sank. Was I the only one in the world who would always be alone?

"Duo, how do you do it? You're two years younger than me and you're engaged and I'm not. What am I doing wrong? I'm caring and strong and have a good job and money and I'm willing to support and I'll coach the Little League baseball team and I'll change the diapers and walk the dog and play paper dolls. What am I doing wrong Duo?"

This outburst shocked him, and for a moment he just stared at me, not knowing what to say. "Um, I should probably go, Heero. Can I finish showing you the model tomorrow?"

"Sure Duo, I'm sorry about that, I'd love to hear more about it tomorrow."

He picked up the system and walked toward the door. He paused a moment and looked back, "I don't know what you're going through Mr. Yuy, but I'm sure everything will work out. This ring was my grandma's. She gave it to me when I was going through rehabilitation to encourage me when I thought I couldn't keep going. There's always hope, Heero. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that he walked out the door, leaving me sitting in the front room, listening to the soft taps on the pavement.

The End

Thank you for reading! If you noticed any mistakes or have any suggestions, please review to help me improve my writing! Thank you - Keiichi Sei


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